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Thoughts on New Zealand Skiing??

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Blarneypip
Posts: 43 - Karma: 13
Hey all, I want to move to NZ for at least a winter to ski. Any thoughts on where to go, how expensive living is/are there deals if i work for a mountain, how easy/hard is it for americans to get work visas, how easy it is to get jobs [as an american], and most importantly, is there tree skiing??? etc. etc.
Aug 29 2008 2:34AM
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SHastatahoe
Posts: 3414 - Karma: 20
a/s/l?
Aug 29 2008 3:02AM
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sick-as-aids
Posts: 3453 - Karma: 1,007
wanaka
rent is good, work is prety easy to find if you look in advance, and visas shouldnt be a problem.
no there isnt tree skiing here, but skiing out of wanaka gives you diversity in what you want to ski with snow park, cardies and treble cone all near. its the best atmosphere here too
Aug 29 2008 4:12AM
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Static
Posts: 8567 - Karma: 4,114
just remember in NZ it's a serious crime to use someone else's wifi.
Aug 29 2008 5:47AM
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Silence
Posts: 16030 - Karma: 150
Both good points above haha..

It's really nice there..if you are going to stay on the South Island, your best choices would be Wanaka or Queenstown..

Both very different - QT is far more commercialised, therefore more work available and overall more to do..Wanaka is a little quieter, but arguably nicer as well. Great scenery and you are nice and close to the ski fields...

I'd say Wanaka, but it's the type of place which attracts many people staying there over winter so it would be wise to organise things like accommodation and work quite early before everything fills up..

Cost of living is fairly reasonable, i'd say cheaper than the US (And certainly beneficial with your exchange rate..)

Overall, it would be a great experience..Kiwis are good people.
Aug 29 2008 7:01AM
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Klick_2_klaim
Posts: 3396 - Karma: 25
It sucks.,

everything you see is photoshopped.

wanaka is horrible. there is only liek 12 bars, and everything has beets on it.
park is the busiest place on earth, good luck taking a pipe lap. cardies never gets any snow, and its impossible to discern your way around the place. TC is just a death trap, on average one person a day dies there. no joke, srsly.

you could do some ski fields, but i mean, ewwwwww.

just stay home. and tell everyone you know to stay home for the summer.
Aug 29 2008 11:50AM
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Mex_LineJib^a
Posts: 3928 - Karma: 65
^ what?

never been to wanaka but queenstown is freakin great. such a good vibe there, lots of things to do and there are a few mts close by... i think cardrona is the nearest decent sized mountain in the area (could be wrong), but anyways it's sick there. if you have the means to get there defenitely go!
Aug 29 2008 1:17PM
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little_ey
Posts: 609 - Karma: 392

i seriously loved wanaka.  i'd move there if i could.  so if you find yourself living there for a season, beware!  you'll find your own home not up to par afterwards.

Aug 29 2008 2:12PM
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king.tubby
Posts: 2865 - Karma: 122
i really want to go there for a season. i applied for a "working holiday visa" for this sumemr but didnt end up going over there. recently discovered i cant apply for that same visa again, so im hoping ill still be able to get jsut a normal work visa or something.
Aug 29 2008 2:26PM
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Blarneypip
Posts: 43 - Karma: 13
sweetness! how long do these work visas allow you to work in other countries/particularly new zealand for? I've never worked outside the states before.
Sep 2 2008 9:39PM
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Billiards.
Posts: 6853 - Karma: 816
Def go to Wanaka. Its so sick there. Far better than Queenstown and has a ton of major ski areas close by. There are shuttles that take people to Cardrona and Snowpark every day and Treble Cone too? I dunno. Its definitely the place to be too. Craziest movie theatre ever. Staying at Hostles is really cheap and I know its pretty easy to find a short term job in Wanaka. Go for it, Im thinking about a month or two down there next Southern Hemisphere winter.
Sep 2 2008 9:43PM
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ryan.c
Posts: 6592 - Karma: 14
im thinking of skiing next summer too. whether it be at a camp, in south america, or NZ im not sure, but im deff goin somewhere. being an australia citizen would make it very easy to stay in NZ for the winter.


for those that have done it before, when did you start arranging all this stuff?
Sep 2 2008 10:12PM
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carbon.pulse
Posts: 3348 - Karma: 23
Yea the skiing out here in NZ sucks.

Never get any powder, the parks are shit. Snowpark isnt even real. Its actually in Australia.

Sep 3 2008 12:17AM
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gnarthwest11
Posts: 70 - Karma: 13
epic
Sep 3 2008 1:11AM
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zesty_buddy
Posts: 880 - Karma: 28
You should def come out. Wanaka would be the place to go, heaps of prople migrate there in the winter. accomodation shouldnt be to hard if you get in early and if you get some flatmates it shouldnt be to expensive. you have the three fields to pick from (Snow Park, Treblecone and Cardrona) that are within 40min of wanaka and you can get a bus to all of them. also you should be able to get a job at a restaurent or bar or something if you get in early enough. so basically get there early and you should be good.

the only downsides are that food is pretty expensive compared to the cities.

if you want any more info just pm me


Sep 3 2008 2:09AM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 29,998

Yeah, its out by that big rock in the middle of nowhere..

Sep 3 2008 2:59PM
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toominator
Posts: 4792 - Karma: 120
the photos are def photoshopped such a waste of money
Sep 4 2008 3:57AM
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Silence
Posts: 16030 - Karma: 150
Snowpark in the summer..

Click for larger image
Sep 4 2008 5:10AM
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Silence
Posts: 16030 - Karma: 150
fail.
Click for larger image
Sep 4 2008 5:11AM
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dave_m
Posts: 76 - Karma: 16
As a town there can't be many places in the world mroe fun to live than Queenstown. For bars, clubs, atmosphere, variety of other activites etc it is sooo much fun.

I've not skied there many days so wouldn't want to judge. Personally I didn't get a great snow week, but the number of pros that migrate there for the summer can't be wrong.
Sep 4 2008 6:56AM
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BK
Posts: 2353 - Karma: 1,123
from my experiences in august of 2005, queenstown = huge dudeparty. more 25 to 35 yr old drunk british business dudes than you can shake a stick at. also i thought the food was super mediocre. wine is good thoug. bring your own women and cheeez it snack cracker rations.
Sep 4 2008 2:33PM
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Aaaron.
Posts: 11817 - Karma: 903
WOOOAH
WORLDS BIGGEST MONOLITH!!
ZZZOMGZZ!!
Sep 4 2008 2:42PM
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ryan.c
Posts: 6592 - Karma: 14
ah i went there this summer....soo nice
Sep 4 2008 2:54PM
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JoshBishop
Posts: 464 - Karma: 748
what more do you need my friend?
Sep 4 2008 4:27PM
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Blarneypip
Posts: 43 - Karma: 13
thanks guys. sounds like wanaka is the place to to go and once i save enough money to get there, i'm buying my ticket! I've been to queenstown, but smaller less touristy/poppy/expensive locations are more my dealio. although i was kind of a tourist when i went (after living in dunedin for 3 months), i hate tourists.
Sep 4 2008 9:01PM
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TONYDANZA
Posts: 181 - Karma: 2
Wanaka=Tourists

Everywhere else to ski is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and you would need a car. Mt Hutt is not bad and there are many club fields around that area, so not so many peeps.

Sep 4 2008 9:18PM
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